Climate activist arrested after breach at Dutch airport

About 100 protesters occupied part of the airport’s private jet parking lot after vandalizing the gates, Royal Marechoussee (border police) said in a tweet.

“Protesters have been asked to voluntarily leave the area from 2pm (1300 GMT). Malechaussee and the police are now making arrests,” the police said.

According to Dutch media reports, Extinction Rebellion protesters gathered on the lawn between the hangars, but police blocked access to the apron.

Many people held up banners and posters accusing Eindhoven Airport, which serves international flights, of causing air and noise pollution and harming public health.

Some flights scheduled for Friday were canceled as a precautionary measure ahead of the planned protests, but flight operations on Saturday were unaffected, an airport official told ANP news agency. .

Meanwhile, Eindhoven Airport said in a statement that it shared the view of activists that “aviation, like other sectors, needs to (quickly) become more sustainable.”

“We feel that sense of urgency too. Part of this is why we are not pursuing growth in air traffic, but instead prioritizing the sustainability of existing air traffic,” the airport said on its web site. said on the site.

Dutch police arrested hundreds of climate activists after storming the apron at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport in November.

Protesters then rode bicycles on the apron and sat in front of a private aircraft to prevent them from leaving before waiting to be escorted by police to a bus.